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(Expanded a bit and added burr photos) 
Hooray, I am back to enjoying great espresso from my own kitchen, having suffered my espresso heartaches and microfoam blues for long enough! The nice folk at Spinelli took my wounded espresso machine (Silvia) in and gave her a new steam pipe, while also installing a new steam valve and wand and steam knob (all from the new V3 Silvia, see pic to the right).
My grinder (Rocky) also got a new set of teeth, so he is humming along nicely now after recalibrating for the new burrs. I went through 3/4 of a pack of beans calibrating the new teeth! I held on to the old burr set, for interest sake, and this is what they looks like:
The new steaming kit is super powerful. It is a commercial-grade steam wand, fully articulating, and it delivers a lot of steam. It took me a few goes to get control of it, after wiping out a few pitchers of milk on the early attempts! But now I have gotten a hang of it and the good thing is that it cuts steaming time down substantially.
Anyway, so all is well in the espresso corner in my kitchen. Alert the media!
Closer to 3 months than 2. That’s terrible. I discovered the importance of milk brand the other day. For sometime I had been using the Masters Hi-Lo brand for my coffees, which seemed to do well. For some reason (I think I heard someone say something), I switched to Meiji low-fat and it just didn’t work as well. So back to the Masters and last night I got something that is beginning to resemble a rosetta! Awesome. But I was tired and just wanted to drink the coffee, not photograph it. So, I will have a go again tonight and see what pics I can get. Busy busy at work as usual. Not enough sleep. Blah blah blah…
Quick one – poured this heart this morning. My first decent example of getting something nice on the top of my coffee after nearly 2 months since getting my gear….very happy indeed with this!
Gee, its been about one month since my last post. So, things on the espresso front go well. I have been making mostly milk-based drinks and its all good. My milk foaming is going great (probably a 90% success rate), but still cannot really do any sort of latte art. I got one nice heart the other day, but that was more by accident. What I am getting is an interesting swirl of brown and white, which while visually pleasing to the eye, is not what I am intending. Will have to get organised and resume taking photos soon.
Keith’s 3rd birthday is around the corner and we’re sourcing for a Thomas The Tank Engine cake maker somewhere! Not much else to say, right now.
Well now I am 32, not much different from the day before thankfully. The coffee, on the other hand, is good again! The other day must’ve been an anomaly. Just a quick note today.
So I went down to Highlander Coffee on Wednesday afternoon and had a chat with Phil (and Jeff who happened to be there helping with the roasting). and bought the Espro tamper and pitcher. Didnt use the gear until this morning, though, but happy with the results. Yesterday, I gave my Silvia a good clean-up, including my first back-flush and pulled a few shots to clear the system out. Then, this morning I tried the new tamper, and the shot was good. Tasty. Not bitter or acidic at all. Fantastic!! The milk from the pitcher was good, but not as good as I was getting sometimes previously with my normal pitcher (not consistently though). Will try that again tonight, as I was tired and didnt really experiment with it. So, in all, very happy with the initial results of the new Espro gear. And was nice to meet Jeff and Phil and see the back of Highlander – man, do they have some nice machines (Domobar) back there!!
Still pondering the home roasting thing. THink I will go and buy a nice heavy cast iron pot and some green beans (now, where am I gonna buy those in S’pore??). WIll try it out just for fun. There’s something very appealing about that, but it just about confirms that I have become a bit potty about the subject. Haha what to do?
Aaron, I know I owe you an email. Sorry about that, have been a bit busy these few weeks.
Well, I experienced what I hope is the first and last real bad coffee this morning. Was up working with Shanthi till the wee hours of the morning, so maybe I was just sleep-deprived. But the cappa/latte this morning was really not great. Tasted thin and hot in an awful searing sort of burn-the-top-of your-mouth-and-throat kind of way. Not nice at all, in fact damn bloody unpleasant. Indeed, you can probably see the effect that it has had on me, as I dont think I am usually this grouchy!! Haha, but then again, i do like to have a good night sleep as well. Shanthi even said it was bitter, which she hasnt said since much since I began my learning curve. Write it down to experience and the crap results of not enough sleep and being in a rush to get out of the house for the respective starts of our work days. Ah well, shit happens!
So I reckon that I am going to get an Espro tamper, the one that lets you know when you’ve hit 30 lbs. Its my birthday tomorrow, and I reckon Shanthi may need some guidance on what to get me!! Right?? Expensive this tamper is, yes, but I am quite certain that my tamping is not good. In fact, I feel that a lot of the variables are being sort of winged right now. I think its back to basics this weekend. Start with the grinder, make sure its dialed in correctly, then get the 30lbs tamp. My temp surfing is alright, I think. And I am using the Spinelli beans (original blend), which seem to be pretty decent. So, there we go. A bit of science this weekend, in between bringing the boys for a swim and their playschool. Oh, I also need to give Silvia a good clean and a backflush. Actually, I think i am going to buy the Espro toriod pitcher, too, cos my foaming has really worsened, too. Hahaha a lot of complaints from me, today. But, turuthfully, I am still really really enjoying the whole experiecnce.
Have began reading a bit about home roasting today (specifically from Tim Eggers’ website review of his pan roasting technique, see here ). Looks interesting and would be pretty neat to try it. Just wonder how much of an issue the smoke will be, considering HDB rules and all that stuff. Still, I have a balcony that could come in handy. Will think more about this.
OK this is my lunchbreak, gotta go and get some food, hungry.
Went to Highlanders on Saturday afternoon after a bit of trouble finding the place! Had my two young boys with me (eldest is nearly 3, youngest is a bit over 1), while my wife was having her hair done. I have been given the contact details of the owners and advised to have a chat and look out back, but this wasnt at all the right time for that (i.e. with the boys). So I just went in for a coffee and a sandwich. Had a long black and a takeaway latte, both most enjoyable indeed. I was surprised at the csost of the bill, the two coffees and one decent size sandwich for under 9 bucks! Is it just me, or is this damn cheap? Well anyway, I will one day soon hopefully have time to have a chat with the owners and learn some more.
As for my own coffee-making journey, its progressing but still pretty volatile. I get a good espresso less than half the time, but the cappa/latte is pretty tasty (my wife doesnt cringe, tho she still wants a bit of sugar!). Of course, expectations are a big part of it. Last night, for example, I whipped up a round of lattes for my wife, aunty, father-in-law and myself. While everyone said it tasted good, there were comments that its not big enough (“next time make it a big mug”!). I was using the rancilio cappa cups that came with my silvia. So, the quest continues, but man am I enjoying every step of the way!! Roasting will be the next logical step, but I want to get on top of some of the other skills first….Christmas is not far away!
I am kicking myself for not taking more photos. Maybe its to do with the fact that I am still a new entrant to this whole espresso game, but I find that my mind is very absorbed with the pull process, such that I forget to take a photo or its a big rush to grab the b/berry (quickest way to take a photo when rushed). I guess that that will get better with time, as I become more comfy with the whole thing. That said, my tamper and knock-box arrived yesterday. Happy happy. Again, forgot to take a photo! But the shots last night looked quite good, nice guiness effect but the actual volume of crema aint that fantastic (around 5mm usually). I managed one hurried photo of the second shot i pulled last night…..
The taste is still a bit not-so-nice. I varied the grind setting down to 4 on the Rocky, and it was too fine for a flow. So back up to 5 and the flow was good. Still not a great tatse, but ceretainly drinkable. I think it must be either my tamping technique or maybe the beans? I am using the package that Ross gave me free when I bought my equipment, and the beans are dark and a little bit oily. I have read various posts that Spinelli roast their beans a bit much. Maybe worth buying some beans from Highlander soon, perhaps a lighter roast, or a lighter blend or something. Much to learn, much to learn. This morning’s cappa/lattes were delicious though (Shanthi commented “no bitterness at all”). My milk foaming is consistent now, but yet to be able to do any sort of latte art, other than a big blob and a bit of a mess on the counter. Will have to practice that. The work email system is down right now. so I thought time to make a short post before meetings start. Still having a bit of a cold, but nothing serious <END>
Feeling a bit sick today, with a sore throat and runny nose. Will be heading off to the doc soon. So last night, I discovered the “guiness effect” with the crema. I went to CK Tang and bought a few small clear glass shot glasses to better see the brew coming out of the Silvia (I also bought a small magnetic timer for the temp surfing and to see how my extraction rate is progressing, along with a couple of brown colour kitchen towels for obvious reasons!).
So anyway, after grinding, tamping and loading, I pulled a shot into the clear shot glass and, holy s**t, there was a wonderful guiness effect. I couldn’t believe it and wondered, hmm, have all my previous shots been like that, too? Ran out of the kitchen with the glass to show Shanthi, who was on the phone and looked mildly bemused at this guy gesticulating wildly with a teeny tiny shot glass in hand containing some black looking stuff with this strange effect at the top and a big thumbs up!! Haha what she must’ve thought!! So back to the kitchen to try it again and same result. I was well happy at this and took a few hurried photos (will post them later for the hell of it). Then made two cappa/lattes for us, despite my sore throat.
This morning, same thing. Keith supervised my espresso making this morning, with his eye line about level with the kitchen counter. He seemed interested and wanted to know in minute detail everything i was doing (as evidenced by the “papa, what is THAT??” every ten seconds or upon the introduction of some new equipment or aspect). The shot was nice looking and the cappa/lattes were pretty delicious, too. Milk foamed well. Can’t wait for the new tamper to arrive. Havent heard any feedback from Shanthi yet as to today’s coffee, maybe she’s just busy at work?? <END>
Well, I am now into my fourth day since i got my espresso trainee licence. I dont count the day of purchase itself (Friday) as Shanthi and I fell asleep soon after arriving home late that night without even taking the gear out of the boxes!! Not at all what I had planned, but I guess the way these things go sometimes.
Day one started with getting everything out of the box and into the kitchen. No problems there and boy does the Silvia look nice, with Rocky next door. My espresso quest had begun with a hiss and a bang (in a good way). Then in a bad way as the fuse in the power plug blew. I didnt know it at the time, but the machine just died after an hour or so. Gee, imagine the thoughts going through my mind (and the raised eyebrow from Shanthi)!! So on the phone I went to Ross from Spinelli who was at a loss to explain it. Then he suggested the fuse, and sure enough that was it. So I quickly grabbed one from another plug and sure enough, we were back in business. But a scary start!!
So, anyway, fast forward to Day 2 (that’s Sunday 13 Jan ‘08). I finally got my milk foaming under control. I was previously not putting enough steam into the milk and it was giving that awful screeching sound. I didnt really know what that meant, until doing some internet research and found enlightenment. So the next morning’s two cappucinos for Shanthi and I had really nice foamed milk. Happy happy joy joy. My espresso is still under experimantation.
I have ordered a proper Reg Barber tamper (and a knock-box) from QARR to replace the hopeless little plastic tamper that came with the Silvia and doesnt even fit properly (too small)!! So, it will be out the door with Mr Plastic Tamper within the next day or two after I receive my big, shiny, metal tamper (I just received an email from Malcolm at QARR saying the gear will be arriving at my place some time this week)! Hooray, now I will be able to be sure my tamp is being done properly. Then have to get the grind setting correct, and temperature surfing. I figure no point working hard on these until the tamper arrives. As for the temp surfing, I have begun this meaningfully last night, and I cant really speak for its qualities until the tamper arrives, I think. But even just winging it all, my espresso is certainly less acidic and more drinkable straight after a few days of playing around. But I know the real work and experimentation begins when my equipment set is complete and of good quality. Then, a bit later on, I will think about roasting. But for now, I will let myself be led by other professionals on that count, in terms of a nice blend and roast..
So, thats it for this quick update. I guess one benchmark is an SMS from Shanthi yesterday morning …. “2day’s coffee vy gd” …. now THAT puts a smile on my face and makes it all worthwhile!! Next challenge is to get her drinking and enjoying the straight espresso. For now, its a bit of sugar and a good amount of foamed milk! Yup she likes the cappucino, well a latte is probably a better description of what I am making. But then again, I also like the cappucino/latte that I am now able to make!
The only bummer about this whole thing is that I now wish i had a machine in the office too! Seems such a travesty to go and make an instant coffee, or go down to starbucks, for lack of a good coffee right here. Ah well, will have to give that one some thought. Considered having an Espresso Friday where I bring the machine to the office, but weighing as much as she does, yeah maybe thats not such a good idea!! <END>
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